Compuware: Consumers Won't Put Up With Poor Web Site Performance

DETROIT -- Compuware Corp. (Nasdaq:CPWR) Wednesday published findings of a new survey showing that consumers are frustrated by poor Web site performance during peak traffic periods and have developed even less tolerance for it.

The survey found that 37 percent of consumers find Web site performance issues unacceptable compared to 29 percent in 2009.

While almost 90 percent of consumers believe it is important for Web sites to work well during peak traffic times, websites are not meeting consumer expectations. As a result, consumers are less tolerant of performance issues and will take action faster when they experience poor Web site performance.

Key survey findings include:
* Online consumers expect a consistently good experience, regardless of how much traffic a site gets during peak times. Almost 90 percent of consumers feel it is important for a Web site to work well during peak traffic times.
* Consumers are less tolerant of poor Web site performance during peak traffic times. Thirty-seven percent of consumers find performance issues to be unacceptable compared with 29 percent in 2009.
* Poor Web site performance during peak times has a clear negative impact on the business.  Three quarters of those who experienced Web site issues have gone to a competitive site, and almost 30 percent go to a competitor's site immediately. Another 86 percent of online consumers are less likely to return to a company's Web site after a poor online experience. And 43 percent of online consumers had a less positive perception of the company, and a third told others about it after a poor online experience.

"Peak Web traffic means increased revenue opportunity, and for most businesses peak periods are precisely when they spend the most on promotions and campaigns to drive visitors to their sites and convert the sale," said Steve Tack, CTO of Compuware APM. "However, peak traffic also means increased risk for degraded Web performance and, consequently, lost business. The overall message from consumers is clear -- they want better online experiences and are willing to take action like going to a competitor's site when they experience poor website performance during peak traffic times."

To read the full survey findings, go to http://ow.ly/8VTOH

To see a summary of the key survey findings, download the infographic: http://ow.ly/8VTRm

The Compuware Gomez platform is the industry's leading solution for optimizing the performance of web, non-Web, mobile, streaming and cloud applications. Driven by end-user experience, Gomez provides a unified view across the entire application delivery chain, from a user's browser or mobile device, across the Internet or a corporate WAN, in the cloud, to inside the data center, eliminating blind spots from the First Mile to the Last Mile.

More at www.compuware.com.